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T71
General The T71 is a tier 7 American light tank. In-game description: "Experimental airborne light tank with an oscillating turret and automatic loading. Developed by Detroit Arsenal from 1952 through 1953 as a replacement for M41. The armament was deemed ineffective, and the development was stopped after one wooden prototype had been built." Notes The T71 is obtained from the T21, and leads up to the T69. The T71 is the first in many of the autoloading tanks, coming from the T21, which is a generic one shot light tank. The T71 line is a very interesting line, as it starts from light tanks to medium tanks, back to light tanks, then medium tanks, and for the cherry on top, a heavy tank. Strategy The T71 is a very light tank. Avoid ramming others as this tank weighs a mere 18 tons. The T71 is a great sniper, as its small size allows it to stay hidden for long periods of time. The T71 is also a great flanker, as its quick speed allows it to go 'in-and-out', punching out 150 damage per shot, allowing 450 damage per clip, and than driving away. It is advised to snipe during the first few minutes of the match, and wait until most enemies are spotted. When all enemies have been spotted, or a driver knows where the enemy would be based off of current enemy locations, the T71 can practice hit-and -run tactics. One thing to remember is that the T71 will never win in a direct firefight. Never engage any enemy. The speed is great, which allows for the T71 to run away whenever danger occurs. Modules Trivia The T71 in WoT (PC) has a different chassis with more armor and a piked nose. The real T71 wooden mockup also features the piked nose chassis. The WoT Blitz chassis is the the unbuilt Cadillac proposal. The T71 is the first in its line to receive an oscillating turret and a high tier auto loader. All tanks that follow also feature the same attribute. In WOT (PC), the T71 has 6 shots in each clip. The T71 only existed as a wooden mockup, of which no historical records of its armor or performance specifications exist. Gallery Historical Gallery The T71 never saw the light of day. It was cancelled in the mock up stage. The image is the T71 wooden mockup. Note the piked nose. The T71 Experimental Airborne Light Tank was part of a 1952 plan by the US to replace the M41 Walker Bulldog in service. It was multi-turreted and equipped a primary oscillating turret. It was similar to the AMX-13 and the T92 Light Tank. By 1953, there were 3 designs that were suggested as a replacement. Those 3 designs were drawn by Detroit Arsenal, Cadillac, and Aircraft Armaments. In 1952, the Army Ordnance Committee gave general required characteristics for a replacement of the M41 Walker Bulldog. Originally, there was a 20 ton maximum weight and a requirement for a 90mm gun. This requirement was later changed to an 18 ton weight limit and a 76 millimeter gun which would have allowed a quicker replacement of the barrel. Wargaming: "Little is known on this unusual US tank because the T71 never actually made it out of the factory and onto the battlefields. It suffered the fate of many interesting vehicles that were thought up in the post-war era, when the US tank manufacturing industry was very rich in ideas but became increasingly poor in funding. Armed with the experience gained from the industry’s previous rapid expansion, the US engineers were looking to improve their entire line-up of light, medium and heavy tanks, and try out new and sometimes experimental designs on them. When some of those experiments didn’t turn out quite as everybody had hoped for, projects were quickly dropped, as in the case of the T71 that only existed in mock-up form and never actually saw the light of day. The few available records say that its development began in the early 50s when the US Ordnance Committee ordered a new light tank with very specific characteristics, aimed at replacing the T41E1 –which itself had already been the improved successor of an upgrade of the experimental light tank T37. Being the third generation of an experimental vehicle, the T71 was meant to continue the same bold nature by sporting a heavy 90mm calibre gun on a 20 ton light weight structure. Manufacturers such as the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant put forward their plans featuring an oscillating turret that would be able to handle the recoil of the cannon. This was a rather unusual technology that was only used in a couple of tanks worldwide. As the tank was meant to be carried airborne, its ultimate weight had to be reduced even further, which limited possible armament to a 76mm gun, but in turn enabled the use of an auto-loader. The designers had bet on quantity over quality, giving the tank an impressive firing rate (before the unavoidable drum reload of course) and an ammo rack capable of carrying up to 60 shells of different types. Light-weight and equipped with a decent AOI-628 engine in the rear hull for agile quickness, the engineers thought they had created a nimble scout and artillery support tank. However, they had forgotten an important aspect: the armour. Due to the imposed weight restrictions, the tank was covered in “paper-thin” 25 mm armour which failed to impress the Ordnance Committee. Ultimately its performance just did not live up to the necessities of changing warfare of its time. The project was scrapped in 1953 with nothing but a wooden model to show for it." Category:Vehicles Category:Tech Tree Tank Category:Light Tank Category:U.S.A. Nation Category:Tier VII